1. Citizenship and Immigration Division Call for Proposals Settlement and Integration Services for Refugees and Vulnerable Newcomers
Information Session

2. Context
In 2016, Ontario experienced a significant increase in the number of refugees and refugee claimants settling in the province. Resettled refugee arrivals more than doubled compared to 2015, while refugee claims were up by 38%.
In 2016, Ontario received over 15,000 Syrian refugees, including a large cohort of government- assisted refugees with low education and official language fluency.
85% of Syrian refugees settled in the GTA, Ottawa, Hamilton, Kitchener, London and Windsor.
Immigration Category
2015
(Actual)
2016
2017
(Projection)
Refugees admitted as permanent residents
14,962
28,186
20,109
Protected Persons and Dependents
7440
8236
10,125
Resettled Refugees
7522
19,950
9,984
- Government-Assisted Refugees (GARs)
- Privately Sponsored Refugees (PSRs)
- Blended Visa Office Referred Refugees (BVORs)
3347
3736
439
9919
7671
2360
2610
6576
798
Refugee Claimants (temporary residents)
11,095
15,275
18,645
Notes: projections are based on:
Refugees: IRCC, 2017 Immigration Levels Plan for Canada; IRCC Permanent Resident Landings Data Q (for ON % share)
Refugee Claimants: IRCC Refugee Claimant Data (Open Data Portal) – preliminary numbers for January to April 2017

3. Ontario’s Response Eligible Clients: Eligible Organizations:
In this context, MCI seeks to enhance targeted settlement and employment services for refugees, refugee claimants, and other newcomers with intensive settlement, employment, health and mental health needs.
Available funds: $6.5M in and $11.0M in
Eligibility criteria are as follows:
Eligible Clients:
Protected persons, including resettled refugees and refugees landed in Canada.
Refugee claimants, including those awaiting the outcome of an appeal.
Other vulnerable newcomers with some or all of the following: low education and official language proficiency, high health or mental health needs, mobility and other disabilities.
Eligible Organizations:
Not-for-profit organizations which have been incorporated for at least two years
Applicants will be required to demonstrate experience serving refugees, refugee claimants and/or other vulnerable newcomers.

4. Overview of Call for Proposals
This CFP will support programs and services that maximize the economic and social integration of vulnerable newcomers to Ontario.
Priority will be given to projects that address service gaps in communities with large numbers of refugees, refugee claimants and vulnerable newcomers, or regions with limited service infrastructure to address the needs of vulnerable clients.
Applicants are encouraged to propose initiatives that are:
Targeted to the needs of vulnerable newcomers.
Innovative approaches for improving economic and social integration outcomes.
Collaborative, building overall system capacity to better meet the needs of refugees and vulnerable newcomers.
The Ministry welcomes project proposals that promote emotional wellness through activities such as supportive counselling, support groups, parenting workshops, and violence prevention/intervention.
Proposals may include complementary supports that improve service access and outcomes (ie: transit, childminding, interpretation, mental health services).

5. Funding Streams
Applicants may apply under one or both of the following funding streams:
Social Integration: Projects will help clients overcome settlement challenges, navigate service systems, develop social connections and participate in community life.
Projects may focus on:
Direct Services
Capacity Building
Grant Size: Up to $200,000/year, depending on service intensity and client volume.
Economic Integration: Projects will combine language learning, skills training and work experience for vulnerable newcomers with low official language fluency and low levels of education. Services should lead to employment.
Employment
Self-Employment / Entrepreneurship
Grant Size: Up to $400,000/year, depending on service intensity and client volume.

6. Eligible Activities: Social Integration - Direct Service
Case management:
Intensive support and regular follow up with clients over an extended period of time.
Direct assistance with a range of practical, emotional and social integration needs, and help clients to access specialized health, housing, education, training and other supports.
Volunteer coordination to enhance supports for refugees, refugee claimants and other vulnerable newcomers.
Youth Services:
Targeted programming to promote school success and community engagement:
Homework help, recreation and peer support
Individualized mentoring to facilitate decisions about post-secondary education or employment training.
Projects will serve refugees and other vulnerable newcomers between the ages of 12 and 29, and may focus on a narrower age range for some or all activities. Applicants should define their target age group, and provide a rationale.
Women-Centred Services:
Culturally sensitive supports for women who face significant integration barriers due to factors such as low education and official language fluency, and high health or mental health needs.
Action plans to achieve personal goals, while navigating new cultural norms and gender expectations.
Projects will address challenges in areas such as emotional resilience and social connections, domestic/sexual violence, or parenting in a new culture.

7. Eligible Activities Social Integration: Capacity Building
Projects will enhance the capacity of communities and service systems to address the unique needs and goals of refugees, refugee claimants and other vulnerable newcomers.
Projects may address needs in areas such as:
Training related to the private sponsorship of refugees.
Training for front line workers in the settlement and/or other service sectors, to improve service access and responsiveness for refugees and vulnerable newcomers.
Promoting the sharing and adoption of good practices, through strategies that could include communities of practice, common service protocols, and development of province-wide resources.
Projects will be provincial in scope, or build capacity in multiple regions of Ontario. They may focus on a particular demographic, such as francophone or rural and northern communities.
Proposals should also provide compelling and up-to-date evidence of the need to be addressed by the project, and meaningful performance measures that can be used to demonstrate impact.

8. Eligible Activities: Economic Integration
Projects will provide targeted labour market integration supports for clients with low official language fluency and low levels of education who are not able to benefit from existing provincial employment services.
Funded projects will combine language learning, work experience and wrap-around supports, and lead to employment.
Projects should include a robust package of client supports and training, supported by robust employer engagement strategies. Eligible activities include:
Vocational assessment and service planning
Pre-employment services
Job-specific language instruction, skills training and work placement
Employer engagement
Coaching and job retention
Entrepreneurship workshops and small business development
Wrap-around supports
Complementary supports maximize opportunities for success. Examples include: literacy, numeracy and computer skills training; specialized supports for survivors of sexual and domestic violence; or psycho-vocational assessment and support for trauma survivors; 8

9. Partnership Requirements
Partnerships are key to improving service access, and maximizing project outcomes. All applicants must demonstrate relevant partnerships to support their proposed project activities.
Social Integration:
Direct Service Projects: Proposals must include one or more partners in sectors such as early years, education, health, mental health, youth services, women’s services.
Capacity Building: Proposals must include partnerships that ensure relevant subject matter expertise and capacity for provincial or regional impact.
Economic Integration:
Employment: Proposals must include strong partnerships between settlement agencies, training providers, unions, and employers.
Self-employment: Proposals must include partnerships between settlement agencies and organizations offering small business supports.
Active partnerships are encouraged, where partner organizations are involved in direct service delivery. Ministry funding can be used to support the delivery of specialized services or training modules by a partner agency.

10. Evaluation MCI will weigh the evaluation of each proposal as follows:
Criteria
Weighting
Organizational Capacity
25%
Overall Approach
50%
Budget
TOTAL
100%
Organizational Capacity (25%)
Demonstrated experience and expertise:
In serving refugees and/or other vulnerable newcomer populations;
In carrying out project activities related to the project priority;
Thorough evidence of robust governance structure, financial management and accountability procedures, and human resource management systems;
Effective planning, monitoring and evaluation systems.

11. Evaluation (cont’d) Overall Approach (50%) Budget (25%)
Demonstrated Need for the Proposed Project
Project activities support improved social and economic integration outcomes for refugees, refugee claimants, and vulnerable newcomers.;
Evidence supports the service need, and shows a concentration of eligible clients and/or limited service infrastructure to serve vulnerable clients in the geographic area of service;
Project activities do not duplicate existing services.
Potential for Success
The proposed objectives are achievable and supported by a sound delivery plan;
The proposed project has an effective performance measurement plan, including concrete and measurable output and outcome indicators.
Evidence of coordination and alignment with other services; and
The proposal is supported by active partnerships, with letters from partner organizations confirming the roles and responsibilities noted in the application.
Budget (25%)
The proposed project is cost-effective and demonstrates value-for-money.
The proposed budget is well substantiated and aligned with the scope of service delivery.
All costs as well as revenues related to the proposed project have been itemized and explained.

12. Application Process and Timelines
All proposals must be submitted, in either English or French, through Grants Ontario.
Applicants must be enrolled with Grants Ontario and registered with the Transfer Payment Common Registration system.
Start early!
New applicants: Register at least two (2) weeks prior to the CFP submission deadline.
Previous users: Login to ensure you are registered and remember your password.
Download and save your Grants Ontario Application Form and all Supplementary Attachments. Upload when complete and ready for submission.
As soon as you submit your application, you will receive immediate notification that submissions have been received by the Grants Ontario system.
Timelines:
The deadline to submit proposals is 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 25, 2017.
Funding decisions will be finalized and communicated in Fall, Projects will start in November 2017 and finish no later than March 31, 2019.

13. Questions Related to the CFP?
To ensure fairness and transparency in the CFP process, all questions regarding the CFP must be submitted to
MCI will respond to all questions through a Questions and Answers document, updated regularly and made available to all applicants.
Questions will be compiled and answers posted on Grants Ontario, as follows:
Thursday, June 29, 2017
Thursday, July 6, 2017
Thursday, July 13, 2017
Thursday, July 20, 2017
The deadline for submitting questions is Tuesday, July 18, 2017.
For Grants Ontario technical support, please contact the Grants Ontario Service Team via Phone: or or by